


I'll Hold It In And Stand My Ground

by sunsetglow (suchfun)



Category: 2PM
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-02
Updated: 2014-02-02
Packaged: 2018-01-10 03:15:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1154110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suchfun/pseuds/sunsetglow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>It's funny what happens once you realise that everyone deserves a choice.</i>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Taecyeon is annoying. Taecyeon likes tricking him. Taecyeon uses weird words Chansung has never heard before and teases him with tales from outside the Facility when no-one is watching. Taecyeon is energetic and boisterous and loves attention (when he's not angry and sullen and destructive). </p>
<p>But Chansung is happier than he's ever been.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Hold It In And Stand My Ground

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2011 [Kpop Olymfics](http://kpop-olymfics.livejournal.com/) where I was on Team AU and assigned [TVXQ – Keep Your Head Down](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djJb5iSL0Do). Many thanks to [bek](http://archiveofourown.org/users/bek) for always cheering me on, and _Dark Angel_ and _X-Men_ helped too. 
> 
> Reposted from [here](http://morago.livejournal.com/7707.html).

Chansung sees the fire before he sees the guy.

It's not a huge fireball but it's worrying enough for a corridor in such a secure building with so many flammable materials, and when the six nameless guards jostling around the culprit move aside for long enough for Chansung to see his face it's even more concerning, because the guy looks livid. Chansung has been taught right from day one how hard it is to control your powers when you're angry.

One of the guards finally manages to grab the guy's wrists and the guy struggles, but when the bulkiest guard shoves him against the wall, another pinning his legs in place, it's obvious that the guy has lost his fight.

Minjae clicks his tongue and points warningly at them, trying to stand between Chansung and the group to block his view, but Chansung ducks aside, too curious to give in, watching as the guy bites at the bulky guard's face when it gets too close. The guard just laughs and snaps something shiny around the guy's wrist, causing him to yelp.

"Try something now, you little freak," the guard taunts, his words full of malice, but before anyone can do anything the guards are dragging the guy around the corner and out of sight, his indignant protests echoing behind them.

Chansung blinks.

"Who was that?" he asks Minjae, not sure what to make of the experience, staring down the hall after the rowdy group. Minjae doesn't answer, just continues pushing him down the hall to his mathematics lesson.

 

At one of Chansung's training sessions his question is finally answered. He's been intrigued for weeks, itching to ask about the guy again, wondering about him and who he is and where he comes from. Does he have a power? If he does, has he always had it, like Chansung, or did it appear one day? Has he always lived in the Facility, like Chansung, or is he from another Facility, somewhere on the other side of the world? Could he even be… from outside? Not from a Facility?

The last option both scares and excites Chansung the most.

He doesn't know much about the outside, doesn't think he's ever been out there with prolonged exposure to people and animals and trees and sun, and he has more questions than he could ever ask in a lifetime, but by now he knows better than to ask anyone. Showing interest in anything other than his studies or his training only ever gets him reprimanded, and sometimes, when he was younger, before he learned to hold his tongue, punished.

But this guy changes everything. Because when Chansung walks into the huge, high-ceilinged hall Namyong uses for their training sessions, the guy is already there, and Chansung can feel his heart rate increase steadily with anticipation, his skin prickling with curiosity. 

He moves over to the guy, making sure he's not too close, and finally has time to inspect him properly. He's tall, even taller than Chansung, his skin is kind of dark, his hair is floppy, and he has big eyes and ears. He's not smiling, although the lines around his eyes indicate it's usually something he does often, and Chansung's interest is only heightened.

A throat clears beside him and Chansung jumps before bowing to Namyong, who makes his way around them and stands directly in front of the guy. The guy's frown deepens, but he otherwise doesn't react.

"Chansung," Namyong says calmly, "this is Taecyeon."

"Hello," Chansung says, and smiles, but Taecyeon just keeps glaring at Namyong.

Namyong smirks. "Chansung," he says again, but he's still staring right back at Taecyeon, "we'll be working on your accuracy today. Please get ready."

Chansung bows to him, watching Taecyeon curiously out of the corner of his eye, but neither Namyong nor Taecyeon move an inch as Chansung goes to set up his obstacle course.

Namyong looks away for a split second, opening his mouth to instruct Chansung what to do, and that's all it takes. Taecyeon bolts over to the door and begins banging on it, frantically pressing buttons on the swipecard scanner before standing back and raising his hand, aiming it at the scanner.

Chansung cringes and goes to shield his eyes but Namyong just stands there, and even though thirty seconds have passed nothing has happened.

"You can't do anything with that bracelet on," Namyong says calmly, finally moving over to Taecyeon. He kicks him in the back of the knees and Taecyeon looks too upset to fight it, falling to the floor and continuing to scowl as Namyong leans over to jostle the metal band around Taecyeon's wrist. "You can leave first."

And then the guards come in and take Taecyeon away.

 

Chansung doesn't see Taecyeon for quite a long time after that, and his life feels surprisingly... empty. It's ridiculous because he doesn't even know Taecyeon, but Taecyeon is new and exciting and so different from his daily routine that Chansung finds himself fascinated, even though he knows he shouldn't be. 

He shouldn't feel the tingly surge of happiness that he does when Taec finally joins him for an evening meal in the kitchen, dumping his tray on the table opposite him and flopping into the chair, but Chansung really can't bring himself to care.

Taecyeon doesn't look that great, his face gaunt and pale, and he digs into the food like he hasn't eaten in a week, practically licking the rice out of the bowl.

On any other day Chansung would be joining him, but at the moment he's content with eating slowly, taking time to catalogue the other physical changes on Taec's body—the bruises around his wrists and on his temples, the small scars on his neck, the redness of his eyes.

Chansung wonders what happened. Then he wonders if he really wants to know.

"How old are you anyway?" Chansung thinks Taecyeon asks, but he's saying it around a mouthful of mushy vegetables, so Chansung can't be sure.

"I'm sorry?" he asks, still a little too nervous to be completely casual.

Taecyeon swallows. "How old are you?" he repeats, voice deep and throaty.

Chansung clears his throat and tries to sound older when he responds. "Why?"

"So I know what to call you."

Chansung frowns. "My name is Chansung."

Taecyeon nods, seeming irritated. "Yeah, but what year were you born?"

"I don't know."

"You look old."

"I'm not!"

"So you're young."

"Is it important?" Chansung blurts, flustered, and he shrinks back a little, eyes locked on the bracelet around Taecyeon's wrist, but then Taecyeon starts laughing and Chansung looks up to see mirth in his eyes. "You're playing with me."

Taecyeon shrugs. "It was way too easy." He leans closer, but Chansung stays in place this time. "I'm not going to hurt you," Taecyeon says gently, and Chansung knows instinctively that he's telling the truth. "We're in this together."

"This?" Chansung frowns, but he doesn't get the chance to ask anything further because Namyong appears behind Taecyeon and practically drags him away.

Taecyeon winks at Chansung over his shoulder.

 

Chansung sees a lot of Taecyeon after that. They spend the majority of each day together, eating and going to lessons and training, and eventually that extends to free time and Taecyeon stays in Chansung's room for a while at the end of every day. They start off in awkward silence but they quickly graduate to talking, and then to playing the few board games Chansung has been supplied with, and then to wrestling when one of them cheats, until finally Chansung is at the stage where he can look back and have no idea what they've been doing, just that two hours have passed like two minutes.

Taecyeon is annoying. Taecyeon likes tricking him. Taecyeon uses weird words Chansung has never heard before and teases him with tales from outside the Facility when no-one is watching. Taecyeon is energetic and boisterous and loves attention (when he's not angry and sullen and destructive). 

But Chansung is happier than he's ever been. He's never had someone like this before, someone to share things with, someone like him, and he finds himself doing things he wouldn't ordinarily do. He's usually good, he follows the rules and does what he's told and knows how to read the situation, knows what to say so that he stays out of trouble, but with Taecyeon it's hard to stay mature and responsible and Chansung feels _good_. It feels good to let go, to not creep around in case he upsets someone, to play-fight and do stupid body gags and make up stupid songs and dances. And if they do get in trouble, well, at least he won't be alone.

Taecyeon calls it 'fun'. Chansung doesn't know what it is, but he hopes they can do it forever.

 

"You should call me Taec," Taecyeon says one day, when they're on the floor of Chansung's room playing Jenga. It's not really one of Chansung's favourites because until now it hasn't been that exciting (you can only win against yourself so many times before you have to admit you're losing, too). "It's what all my friends called me," Taec continues, carefully removing a block from the middle of the tower, "before."

Chansung cocks his head, watching the tower as it wavers slightly. "Friends?"

"Yeah, and my family." Taecyeon… _Taec_ says it like it's important, like it should mean something, like it's even more important than 'friends', and Chansung wonders if the term should mean something to him.

"Family?" Chansung says. Taec finally looks up at him and Chansung is confused to see that he's annoyed.

"Are you repeating me because you're deaf or because you really don't understand?"

Chansung frowns. "I can hear fine."

"Then…" He leans closer, and Chansung is momentarily distracted by the impressive bunching of his eyebrows. "You really don't know your family? The people who brought you up, who looked after you?"

Chansung considers this. "Minjae's always—"

"Not Minjae," Taec snaps, looking even angrier. "Not Minjae or Namyong or anyone who's keeping you here, that's not… not them. They're not family."

"Oh." Chansung doesn't have many people he's close to, and if Minjae doesn't count, then who does?

Maybe there's no-one.

They're quiet for a moment and Chansung easily takes a block from near the top even though he's not concentrating before Taec says, "Me, then."

Chansung has absolutely no idea what he's talking about. "What?" 

"Me. I'm your family." Taec looks at him seriously, letting Chansung know how much he means it, and Chansung feels his mouth widen impossibly into a grin, feels his stomach tingle with happiness.

"Okay," Chansung says. "And I'll be yours."

 

The first time Taec is allowed to spend the night in Chansung's room, both of them are a little lost. They've done all the things they usually do and now that Minjae has told them they have more time together they don't know how to deal with it.

They stare at each other.

"Is this a reward or a punishment, d'you think?" Taec asks, grinning, and Chansung shoves at him.

"There has to be something we can do..." Chansung says, because what if Taec thinks he's boring? What if Taec never has as much fun as he does when they're together, what if—

"Relax," Taec says, rolling his eyes. He collapses back onto the couch and spreads himself out on it. Chansung watches interestedly as he stretches and his shirt rides up a bit. His skin is so _dark_.

"How did you get your skin like that?" he blurts. The look on Taec's face insinuates that he just asked a really stupid question, but he doesn't care and moves closer, reaching out to touch his stomach. "It's so brown."

"Yah." Taec jerks back and bats his hands away. "I tan easily."

"Tan?"

Taec stares before making a strange sort of hocking noise in his throat. "Oh man, you really are a special one." Chansung doesn't know whether to be offended at that but Taec doesn't give him time to think about it, instead gesturing to the television. "Put something on, I'm in the mood for laziness."

Chansung drops to his knees in front of his messy pile of discs, sifting though them to find a good one. They're all about various types of animals and none of them have audio but they're all Chansung's ever had, and Taec's first documentary with him needs to be _perfect_. "What do you want to see?"

"Surprise me," Taec tells him.

After a few more moments Chansung picks the documentary on big cats (Taec was drawing some sort of cartoon cat in the margins of his book in their English lesson so Chansung figures he can't go wrong) before scooting backwards and levering himself up onto the couch, shoving at Taec's legs. Taec yawns and waits for Chansung to settle before stretching back out again, his legs dangling over the edge of the couch and his head in Chansung's lap.

Chansung freezes. Is this how people from outside watch television? Should he have draped himself over Taec, too? Taec's head is heavy and warm, and his ear is pressing into his thigh, but it isn't unpleasant. It actually feels kind of... nice.

Chansung wonders if that's weird.

"Seriously Chansung," Taec says, turning his head to stare up him, "just relax. This is what families do. They care for each other and they show that through physical affection. It's fine, okay?"

Chansung nods slowly and Taec turns back to the television, murmuring his approval when a lion attacks a herd of wildebeest.

 

Chansung finds himself stressing less and less the more times it happens, and when Taec falls asleep on his shoulder a few nights later he hugs him closer, letting himself enjoy the intimacy.

 

Sooner than he'd ever imagined, it feels like Taec has always been around.

 

+

 

Taec has never been too good at controlling his anger. Whenever he gets too worked up, he can feel the fire in his veins, spreading through his body and prickling his palms, licking at his pores before bursting through, singeing the sleeves of his sweaters and causing the ring his parents gave him to glow red.

He can remember when it first happened. He was five and his sister stole his plastic guitar and wouldn't give it back and he wasn't so attuned to his body, didn't know what was coming, so he just felt _hot_ all over and then he'd wrenched the guitar back and it was suddenly a molten glob of deformed plastic in his hands, strings welded onto the fretboard and the neck curled onto the body.

Taec and his sister had both screamed at the same time, but when his sister had tried to tell their parents Taec had had _fire coming out of his hands_ she had got the blame.

 

Taec really doesn't understand why he's here, why he's not at home with his family, what these people want from him. Whenever he's dragged through the endless corridors of white the people here look at him like he's some sort of disgusting animal who deserves to be caged. If he tries hard, tries to think like someone who hasn't been cursed with a superpower, he even knows how he himself could be convinced to think the same way—but these people took his freedom. They forced him away from everything he knew and locked him in this place, this place that is prison and boot camp and Hogwarts all at once, and he can't find it in himself to consider anything approaching forgiveness.

Normal Korean customs don't apply here but not calling Minjae 'hyung' and not adding a 'sshi' suffix to Namyong's name is a lot easier than expected. He has no respect for these people. The one and only good thing about the Facility is Chansung. 

He's a good kid, is Chansung, and Taec is attached to him almost immediately (probably through some misguided combination of wanting to protect him and needing someone himself). Chansung, who has so much power and who has had so much taken away from him and he doesn't even know it, who tries so hard, who still finds charm in old, awful animal documentaries he's seen so many times the discs are scratched. Chansung, who's never known real freedom or family or friends or love.

Taec can't decide which of them has it worse—himself for having had those things and then losing them, or Chansung for never having had them at all.

 

Sometimes Taec dreams that he's outside. He dreams of a beautiful spring day, of the sun warming his skin and the wind rustling the trees and smells that aren't disinfectant and sounds that aren't boots on linoleum. 

He dreams in vivid, bold technicolour, radiant vibrancy that makes him reluctant to wake up because everything here is lifeless. The walls, floors, beds, tables, the storage units and technology, right down the cameras recording their every movement (at least two in their bedrooms, over the TV and bed, and more everywhere else), _everything_ is white.

Everyone dresses the same too, and Taec misses the variety of his old wardrobe so badly sometimes he could cry. There are no pink hats or orange pants here, just white jumpsuits. Every day, white jumpsuits. When he wakes up in the morning, white jumpsuit. After he bathes, white jumpsuit. To sleep at night, white jumpsuit. The guards are a vague exception but they just wear the same in black, so even they don't really count. 

Food too, god, Taec remembers ddukbokki and kimchi stew and pizza, flavours and textures and colours, food that made him excited about eating, food that was different and that he could eat whenever he wanted.

Not at the Facility, though. Here it's like variety and choice don't exist at all anymore, and Taec hates it.

 

"Taec." Chansung starts like he usually does, tone thoughtful and questioning, eyes wide, and Taec mentally prepares himself for whatever strange question he's going to ask next. "Where's _your_ family?"

Nothing could ever prepare Taec for the rush of emotions he feels so suddenly, it's overwhelming, it _hurts_ , and all he can do is stare at Chansung.

"You must have some, right?' he continues, seemingly oblivious to Taec's emotional state as he taps his spoon against his rice bowl. "Otherwise where do you come from? I know the thing about the storks isn't real now, so don't try and..."

But Taec has long since tuned him out. He's been trying to block out all memories of his life before, simply for his own mental health, but now they all come back at once, with unrelenting efficiency and startling clarity, and Taec remembers everyone (family friends crushes teachers coaches teammates pets the ahjusshi who owned his favourite food stall the ahjumma who ran the internet café the pretty girl who delivered milk to his house his favourite idol band the actors in his favourite film his next door neighbours' baby the grandpa he nearly ran over on his bike that one time) and suddenly it's too much. He tries to hide his face but he doesn't get there in time, Chansung is watching him too closely.

"Taec, are you—" Chansung cuts himself off with a surprised little laugh and immediately puts down his spoon, bounding around the table to wrap Taec in his arms, pulling him up for a proper hug.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," he can hear Chansung murmuring against his ear, and the shocked smile is still there, he can feel it, but Chansung's strong arms and warm body pressed to his more than makes up for it and Taec lets himself cry, sob deep wracking tears, for the first and only time since he's been here.

In their lesson afterwards Chansung acts as if nothing happened, and Taec has never been more grateful.

 

Chansung idolises him. To Chansung he is exotic, a thing of wonder, something new and fascinating after so many years living the same existence (because as much as Chansung doesn't seem to understand how _wrong_ all of this is, that doesn't mean that somewhere inside of him he can't want _more_ ).

Chansung has him on this pedestal and it's as flattering as it is annoying because as much as Taec should be _no-one's_ idol, he likes the way Chansung looks at him as he manages to whisper a story about his friends from outside over dinner, or the spark of interest lighting Chansung's eyes when Taec uses a word he's never heard before.

Most of the time Minjae or someone comes to separate them before Taec can infect Chansung too much, but each time, Taec only becomes more and more determined that one day, he's going to get Chansung out of here.

 

He needs a plan, though. A good one. And having the use of his powers would be an advantage, too, but with the bracelet that's an impossibility.

It had been bordering on painful at first, being completely cut off from his own power like that—like going cold turkey. He'd been jittery and achy for (days? weeks?) the entire time they'd kept him in isolation to run their tests, trying to stay calm, trying not to tell them anything, trying to survive, and trying not to think about how they found him in the first place (because the only people who knew about his power were his immediate family members, and putting the two together doesn't even bear thinking about). Now that he's adjusted it's bearable but it gets harder to lose them again after every training session.

Initially he'd wondered why Chansung doesn't wear a bracelet, but then he'd seen how far under the thumb Chansung is, how co-operative and compliant he was raised to be. The people in this Facility simply know that Chansung doesn't need them, because he's never been given a choice and doesn't even know that he should get one.

Taec needs to be like that. To escape, Taec needs to be just like Chansung. He needs to convince Namyong and Minjae and whoever else is in charge that he's come around, that he's on their side, that they can rely on him, and maybe then they'll relax around him a bit.

It'll be a process, but Taec can be very patient when he needs to be.

 

+

 

Usually Chansung and Taec go to training together, where Namyong gives them their own exercises to complete (Chansung's favourites are the ones incorporating concentration, because he tends to space out a lot and welcomes anything that will help improve on his flaws), but after a while their regime starts to change. Instead of having them do their activities separately, Minjae starts making them work as a team and the challenges he sets them get harder. Chansung's used to working by himself and he initially finds the teamwork difficult, but he likes Taec and wants this to work and soon enough they're a proper team.

Chansung sometimes wonders if he should be surprised by how quickly he came to like Taec, because the truth is that when they're together he's really happy, and when they're not together he's thinking about him. When Taec's tired or grumpy or lazy Chansung doesn't mind covering for him, likes it even, and finds himself even more pleased when Taec smiles or ruffles his hair in thanks.

He's never had anyone before, let alone someone like Taec, and Chansung relishes the feeling.

 

When Taec suddenly starts paying attention in lessons and getting serious about learning English and training properly and really honing his powers, Chansung knows that something is wrong.

Minjae and Namyong seem delighted by Taec's progress but Chansung knows better—he knows Taec and he knows when Taec is being insincere and he knows that Taec is planning something.

 

"What's going on?" he says quietly, standing behind Taec, using his body as a brace to help stretch his sore arm muscles. Taec is sweaty and smelly and sticky from their training session (Namyong always seems to enjoy working Taec particularly hard) but Chansung doesn't mind. He doesn't mind anything about Taec, except when he tries to keep secrets.

"With me? Nothing," Taec says, sounding surprised. "I don't know what's up with Namyong though, is trying to make us his little battle droids or—" he cuts himself off to grunt in pain as they both extend their arms forwards and outwards, Chansung putting a little pressure on Taec's biceps to pull them a bit tighter. Chansung ignores him, pushes a little further for a little longer.

"Don't lie," he says, injecting the slightest hint of a whine into his voice. "I know something's wrong."

Taec turns his head slightly, and Chansung sees a hint of raised eyebrow. "You gonna hold me captive until I tell you?"

Chansung hadn't thought of that, but it's actually a good idea. "Yeah." He presses their bodies together and locks his arms around Taec's, trapping Taec in place, like giving him a backwards hug except a lot more forceful.

"This feels so good," Taec says breathily, his brows raising both up and down this time.

"You're not putting me off," Chansung insists.

Taec drops the act and sighs. "You're really not gonna let go?"

Chansung shakes his head.

"Fine." He leans his head back, his cheek brushing Chansung's nose, and murmurs, "I'm gonna get outta this place."

Chansung freezes. What? "What?" he asks dumbly. _What?_

Taec takes advantage of Chansung's inaction and wrenches free. "I'm leaving. Soon. And I hope you come with me."

The first thing Chansung feels is the urge to laugh hysterically at Taec's really funny joke ( _leaving, yeah okay Taec, don't forget your coat_ ) but it has to be the truth with Taec looking at him so solemnly.

The next thing Chansung feels is a sharp pain in his chest like he's been kicked there (by someone with boots on, repeatedly, for several hours), and it doesn't fade when Namyong claps his hands and tells them their break is over.

It doesn't fade at all.

 

Chansung watches Taec closely for the next few days, tries to find time to talk to him in private, but Minjae and Namyong keep them busy and Taec seems quite happy to go along with it. He says nothing about it and acts completely normal, and Chansung is left wondering if it even happened—but that's usually when the stabbing gut pain likes to amp it up another notch and remind him that he's going to lose the only friend, the only family member, the only person he's ever cared about.

 

The evening that Chansung wakes up from his nap to a literal pain in his neck, blinking and sitting up to find Taec leaning over him with wide eyes, is the evening Chansung knows Taec is leaving.

"It's time," Chansung says.

Taec nods.

 

It turns out that Taec has a contact amongst the guards who is helping him, who kept Chansung's bedroom door unlocked, who told Taec how to escape, who is somehow distracting the other guards from noticing their break out, and who is obviously just as deranged as Taec if he thinks this is actually going to work.

"This is crazy," Chansung hisses, following Taec down a corridor that, despite being completely new to Chansung (Minjae usually herds him right at the last intersection, not left), still looks exactly like all the others. "How do you even know where you're going? What if the guards come? What if Namyong finds out, he'll make you lean upside down on your head for hours again!"

There's no response, Taec just keeps looking around and muttering to himself and walking further away from Chansung and Chansung feels the annoyance build up in his chest, battling with the fear for prime position.

"Taec! Yah, _Taec_!" He hurries over to him and pushes him roughly, and Taec rocks into the wall with the force of it.

"What…" His eyebrows draw together but then he looks at Chansung's face. "Chansung-ah—"

"Why are you doing this?" Chansung asks desperately.

Taec pauses and cocks his head and then grins widely. Chansung can tell it's at least fifty percent fake. "If you want something," Taec says, obnoxiously slapping Chansung on the ass as if to prove his point, "you should go for it."

Chansung shakes his head, because that's not how it should work, that's selfish and cruel and ridiculous. He yanks Taec's hand away. "Not if it hurts other people."

"I'm not hurting anyone," Taec insists. "I'm going to live the life we deserve to have."

Chansung shakes his head, because he doesn't understand, how he can he make Taec understand, make Taec _stay_? "You're hurting _me_!"

Taec's face softens. "Then come with me."

"But I can't!" Chansung blurts. His heart speeds up and his breathing quickens at the mere thought of leaving everything he's ever known, of venturing out into the unknown, of going _outside_. It's okay for Taec, it's where he's from, he's strong and he can adjust but Chansung isn't, he won't, he _can't_.

Taec must see his growing panic and he reaches out to rest his hand on Chansung's neck, rubbing his thumb soothingly over Chansung's jaw. "And I can't stay here," he says softly. His bracelet is cold on Chansung's skin and Chansung blinks to try and stave off the tears, but it doesn't work and they blur his vision and drip down his face and into his nose and mouth. Taec yanks him into a hug, presses Chansung's face into his shoulder and rubs his back. "I'm sorry."

Chansung wants to feel angry, feel frustrated and bitter and used but he can't, because he understands. He understands Taec and he understands why he's doing this. And so he slides his hand down Taec's arm and pulls away slowly, trying to drag it out, thinking that he shouldn't do this, shouldn't help Taec with this but he can't not, because he could never stop Taec from doing what he really wants to. Pressing his fingertips to Taec's bracelet, focusing there so he doesn't have to look at Taec's face, he breathes and expels a tiny beam of light. It darts out and slices through the metal and he gently twists it around Taec's wrist and cuts through the opposite side, both sides of the bracelet falling to the floor.

"Chansung," Taec says, but Chansung doesn't look up. " _Chansung_." Taec hugs him again, holding on so tightly Chansung can't breathe, and murmurs "Thank you" into his ear. Then he lets go and then there are receding footsteps and then just the sound of Chansung's own labored breathing.

Chansung squeezes his eyes shut, because this can't be happening, no way, he'll open his eyes and he'll wake up on the couch in his room with Taec in his lap and it will just have been some strange dream. He'll open his eyes and Taec will still be here and everything will be normal, will be—

He opens his eyes.

Nothing is normal.

 

+

 

Taec doesn't remember much about his journey back to Seoul. There are snatches of sensations (walking on rocky ground, the wind drying out his mouth, the smell of air untainted by filtration systems, the motion of a car in transit, the gentle hum of the chosen radio station of the stranger who picked him up) but nothing compares to being back in the city.

Somehow he ends up in the middle of an overcrowded, overlit shopping plaza, and there is so much going on, too much, the noise and the sheer volume of people and it's suffocating and being amongst it all again is like the worst kind of culture shock.

He tries to hold it in, hold it together, hold his head up, but the weight of everything he's done, of everything he's lost, of Chansung who he'll never see again and his family who he can't go back to because the Facility will be waiting, of the lives he had before and can never have again, chooses that moment to sink in and he's left helpless and alone.

He has the freedom he thought he wanted, but he doesn't remember freedom ever being this hard.

 

It's okay living alone on the streets with a superpower, Taec discovers, until winter really sets in. In temperatures of minus-something degrees Celsius it doesn't matter how fiery he can usually get if he can't even feel his fingers, and his power is rendered completely redundant. Out here, he's just like any other normal person trying to escape the cold, and he supposes that that was what he wanted upon leaving the Facility but not like this—on the run, with no home or friends or family or _anything_ (except a bright yellow puffy jacket that someone left in a dumpster, for reasons Taec is too grateful for to bother thinking about).

Worse than that, he has no food and he's hungry, starving, _all the fucking time_. He's never really indulged in snacking, even when he had the means, and he can last a long time between big meals, but there haven't been anywhere near enough of those.

Back at the Facility their food had been bland but there had been more than enough of it, and he used to challenge Chansung to—

Chansung.

His stomach twists at the thought, like it always does. Sometimes he wishes he had the power to forget.

 

There's a band that's playing in the plaza not far from the alley Taec's sleeping in, set up in front of a long strip of shops, taking advantage of the cheer of the pre-Christmas shoppers. Taec only notices them because they're playing an acoustic version of a song he recognizes from his youth (he gets flashes of a music video with a baby and a grim reaper and five guys dancing in the street) and they've built up quite a crowd.

The keyboard player, in particular, seems to have his fair share of admirers, mostly in the form of teenaged girls squealing and dropping a constant stream of coins in the upturned beanie at his feet. Taec suddenly wishes he could play an instrument. At least then he could afford dinner. As it is he could give them a fire show, but he doesn't think that's the wisest idea.

Still, the band isn't that bad, so he finds himself a spot to the side and watches them do their thing. The keyboardist joins in the chorus for a few songs and his voice isn't the best, but it weaves in well with the lead vocalist's and he seems to really enjoy what he's doing.

They finish with a few RnB songs, bowing and thanking their audience, and Taec is startled when the keyboard player purposely catches his eye and winks.

Taec looks behind him, checking for a pretty girl, but there's no-one. When he turns back the keyboardist is inscribing an awkward signature on a busty blonde's collarbone, and Taec knows he must have hallucinated it. He's certainly hungry enough.

 

Taec is hovering just outside McDonald's, waiting for a bunch of tiny teenaged girls to 'finish' their meal (not that they ever really do, because they seem to compete to see who can leave the most food, which makes their tables ideal targets) when there's a tap on his shoulder.

He whirls around, palms up, ready in case it's that stupid manager trying to throw him out again, but it's actually the keyboard player from the other night. His eyes are wide, and he waits for Taec to lower his arms before smiling encouragingly.

"Hello," the guy says, bowing slightly, and even with that one word Taec can tell he's a foreigner. He's also holding a full bag of food, and the scent drifts upwards to assault Taec's nostrils.

Taec tries not to stare at the bag, but he must fail because the guy starts to laugh.

"Hungry?" he asks.

Taec doesn't reply (of course he fucking is, the last time he ate was two days ago) and looks back over to the girls but he's too late. The cleaner is already sweeping their trash into the bin.

"Shit," he curses, English spilling out of him because it was the first word he learnt and he always liked the sound of it.

"You speak English?" he hears a surprised voice say, and he looks back to see the keyboardist still standing there, looking inexplicably pleased.

"A little," he admits, the guy grins again.

"Cool," he says. "I'm Khun."

Taec pauses but Khun looks harmless enough so he says, "Taec."

Khun nods slowly and looks him up and down.

Taec frowns. "What?"

"Nothing." Except he thrusts the bag of food into Taec's hands and winks again. "Don't eat too quickly," he says, and then he's gone.

 

A few nights later, Taec passes the place Khun's band played last time but there's no music, no crowd, and no-one performing. Instead it's just Khun there, waiting, stamping his feet and blowing into his hands in the cold.

"Hey," Taec says awkwardly, in English, stopping a few feet away. "Where everyone?"

Khun turns to him, lips pressed together tightly as he looks him up and down. "Where have you been? Are you okay?" He moves closer, and it's in Taec's nature now to step back, to not let him too close without being sure of his intentions. "Relax, it's okay," Khun assures him. "I want to help you."

"Help?" Taec repeats. Unless Khun's planning on doing a benefit concert in his name Taec can't exactly see how that's going to happen.

Khun frowns. "Yeah, uh… _help_?" He repeats it in terrible Korean, obviously mistaking the reason for Taec's confusion.

"No, I know 'help'," Taec says, "but how?"

"Oh." Khun nods, and then the next second he's grinning, perfect teeth glinting in the streetlight. "When was the last time you had a shower?"

 

He's going against his own better judgment when he follows Khun back to his home, but the idea of a hot meal and an even hotter shower are too appealing to ignore. There's no _real_ danger of it being a trap either because Khun can't act to save himself, if the way he'd cringed and shrunk away before assuring Taec he didn't smell was any indication, so it's pretty likely he's being genuine.

Khun's house is huge, and Taec gapes as Khun ushers him through the front gate, down a path sub-dividing a gigantic lush garden, and up to a front door guarded by a knee-high Buddha statue, where Taec grabs his arm.

"Why are you doing this?" he asks lowly, searching Khun's face.

Khun looks at him steadily, not flinching this time even though Taec's breath must be terrible. "Because you need help, and I can give it to you."

"You don't even know me."

"Do I need to?" he asks, tilting his head, his fringe falling into his eyes, and Taec sighs.

"You're crazy."

"I hope so." Khun laughs and opens the door, nudging him inside, and Taec almost forgets to take off his shoes, only remembering as he trips over a pair of red high-tops (they always wore their shoes in the Facility, and even though Taec's are pretty ratty right now, they were one of his prized possessions on the streets). Once he does Khun leads him down a hallway lined with family photos (six people in most of them, Taec notes), and then into the kitchen.

Four heads turn in their direction, and Taec immediately feels like one of those animals in the wildlife documentaries Chansung liked so much.

_Chansung._

Taec feels the familiar violent ache in his stomach and forces down the sudden wave of nausea, blinking as Khun pushes him closer to his family.

"Guys, this is Taec," Khun says.

Taec waves awkwardly.

They stare at him for far longer than is comfortable, before Khun's mom smiles and leans over the kitchen bench, lifting the lid off a container. It smells amazing and his stomach pulls in a different way and he nearly starts drooling on the spot.

"Are you hungry?" she asks, and it's all he can do not to launch himself on the food and pour it directly into his mouth.

 

He gels with Khun's family pretty much immediately. He can't even say half of their names but they're kind and they share their amenities with him, they don't ask him too many questions, and he sees no judgment or pity in their eyes.

They seem to like him too—Khun's dad because he's respectful and bows the full ninety degrees, Khun's mom because he eats well, Khun's sister because he helps with the washing up afterwards and Khun's other sister because once he showers she realises he's handsome and someone she can show off to her friends. He's even assured that Khun's older brother will like him, but that he's in Thailand, so Taec is more than welcome to sleep in his room.

Taec has no idea why these people are letting a stranger stay in their son's room with no supervision (he could steal anything, do anything to them, and be out of there before they even realised) but he's not going to argue, and as soon as a still-smiling Khun leads him to the right room he lies back on the bed and barely pulls up the covers before he's asleep.

 

Taec means to leave the next day, he really does, but everyone is still so _nice_ , offering him more food and another shower and the opportunity to stay another night, and Taec has always loved sleep but on the streets he could never let his guard down enough to get any, so really it doesn't take much thought at all.

 

Every day Taec wakes up and tells himself he won't stay, and every day it becomes harder to leave. Khun's family doesn't seem that eager to kick him out and soon enough it's not the material things but the warmth of Khun and his family that is keeping him around, because, quicker than he'd ever thought possible, they become _his_ family, too.

So when Nichan comes back, Taec just moves into Khun's room, on a mattress on the floor. And when the school year starts up again in March, and Khun and Yanin go to high school, Taec goes with them.

 

In a way, high school is comforting. He knows rules, he knows regulations, he knows lessons and keeping to schedules and working hard and being disciplined, so the politics of high school are easy. It's the social aspect of it that trips him up, because he has nothing in common with these people, and none of them are accepting as Khun is of his stuttered lies about his past.

He used to have friends, lots of them, and they would play together and laugh together and bond together but it's like he's forgotten all of it. He's forgotten how to talk to more than one person at a time, forgotten how to hit that perfect level of friendliness (not so enthusiastic as to be uncool but not so aloof as to be too cool, either). Really it's all down to the fact that he can never let his guard down, and sometimes the pressure of holding everything in and keeping it together gets too much and it's hard to keep control of his powers when he feels like he's suffocating.

 

It happens on his lunch break, which is naturally the worst time for it to happen. Taec has been feeling stressed and aggravated for days, snapping at everyone, unable to concentrate properly, his palms itching constantly with the need to let it all out. But he has school and study and chores and he's trying not to think about Chansung and he just can't deal with it yet so he pushes the urge down, down, struggling to keep himself in check.

He does pretty well until he's in the bathroom one day, locked in a cubicle and practicing some deep breathing exercises Minjae taught him, when some guys (who Taec recognizes as Khun's 'friends', but who he has never liked) come in and start talking shit about Khun. They are beyond idiotic and totally not worth his time and at first Taec is happy to tune them out, counting the tiles on the ceiling as he breathes, but then the guy gets obnoxiously loud and starts on Khun's family.

Taec twitches, and there's a distinct burning in his palms as the guy calls Nichan a fag and his sisters sluts and then starts on his parents, saying they are spies and traitors and should be sent back home and by that point the burning has spread up his arms and to his torso and it's started to become painful and he can't hold it in anymore, not even for one second. He bursts out of the cubicle the idiots recognize him immediately and shrink back, pathetic and frightened, and he catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror and he knows he looks legitimately scary, so he forces himself to push past the guys before he does something stupid. He stalks outside, bolts past Khun who is calling his name, and continues away, away to the area behind the gym where it's usually deserted.

There's a guy there making out with some girl but Taec just glares at them and they scramble away and then Taec is free to raise his palms, close his eyes, and let go.

When he was younger the feeling of that release used to overpower him, used to control him, but time and lessons at the Facility changed that and now he knows exactly what he's doing and only feels relief, the burning in his body surging out like air from a balloon.

After about a minute he's run out of fire and arms drop to his sides and he takes a deep breath, reveling in the warm glow that the use of his powers always leaves him with, but then—

"What the _hell_?" he hears someone say, and eyes snap open to see Khun, puffing for breath and staring with wide eyes, and Taec is screwed.

 

"I have a present for you," Khun announces, closing Taec's mathematics book right when he's in the middle of an equation.

"Okay," Taec says carefully. This is the most contact Khun has had with him in days, since he saw Taec's power display and then ran off, and Taec has to be careful of his reaction, especially since Khun was the one with the courage to initiate this. "I'm ready."

"It's not here. You have to come with me somewhere."

"Where?"

Khun grins, and Taec feels a little relieved. If Khun is smiling like that then whatever happens next won't be too bad. "Do you want your present or not?"

Taec nods.

"Okay, then come on." 

They go outside and get into Khun's car, both silent until they pull into a car park a few minutes later. Taec doesn't bother to look where they are. He'll find out soon enough, and he trusts Khun, and he'd rather sort this out first.

"Aren't you going to ask me what the hell that was the other day?" Taec asks finally, glancing at him curiously. If their positions were reversed, he's pretty sure he would have grilled Khun for information by now, but Khun has pretty much acted like nothing is out of the ordinary.

Khun tugs up on the handbrake. "I was waiting for you to bring it up. I didn't… quite know how to start the conversation."

Taec nods, and then starts a little as Khun suddenly grabs his elbow, sliding his fingers down Taec's forearm to his wrist, before brushing his fingertips gently over his palm. Taec shivers.

"That fire came from inside you?" Khun asks quietly, still stroking, and he doesn't sound scared, or threatened, or disgusted. Taec is more than grateful for it and resists the urge to hug him, to throw himself on him and lounge all over him like—

He swallows and focuses back on Khun. "Yes."

"It's your… power?" His eyebrows furrow as he finally looks up at Taec.

"Yes."

"And what happened the other day? Why haven't I seen it before?"

"I haven't… used it. In a while. I got angry and just…"

"Exploded," Khun supplies, smiling slightly.

"Exactly." He grins back.

"Well, I think I can help stop that from happening again. Come on." He gets out of the car.

Taec follows him and raises his eyebrows. "A gym?"

"I know how much you hate that you can't pay your way, and I know that you need a release and I spoke to someone here so I know they're hiring. It makes sense."

Taec looks at him, touched that Khun went to all this effort, feeling warmth infuse his stomach. "Yeah," he says, "it does."

And so Taec gets his first job.

 

+

 

They show Chansung pictures of Taec's face and while at first it's a relief to see those goofy features again, Minjae hisses things like _betrayal_ and _traitor_ and it's confusing because it wasn't like that at all. It hurts that Taec left and now Chansung is lonely again but Chansung knows Taec didn't do it to hurt him. Taec just wasn't built for this place, not like Chansung. Chansung has lived here forever. This is who he is. He knows he's good at this, good at following orders, at using his power on demand, at succeeding, at asking the right questions and knowing which are the wrong ones. Good at being good.

Taec fought back too much. He criticized and backtalked and joked around. He was too independent, he was discovered too late, he had already formed too much of his personality outside the Facility.

Taec _had_ to leave. Chansung can't.

 

Chansung spends months being analysed, poked and prodded and examined by the psych department in case any of Taec's subversion had rubbed off on him.

Chansung thinks it hasn't, not really, because Taec was too impulsive and independent and Chansung is the complete opposite, but when he's strapped to a chair, wires and probes and needles attached to him for the hundredth day in a row, an errant, awful and completely unexpected thought enters his mind before he can stop it: this isn't fair.

At first Chansung is frightened by his own thought processes, because surely they'll realise, they'll _know_ , and then he'll be in trouble, but nothing happens. No-one knows. Not after an hour, not after a day, not after a week.

And then his accidental rebellion stops being scary and becomes exciting. How many more things can he think that they don't want him to? How many more things won't they know? So he tries it out, does experiments and silent tests of his own, and that's when he really begins noticing all the other things that aren't right. Things he's been vaguely aware of but happy to let slide because he didn't think he was allowed to dwell on them, because he didn't think he had a choice. Things that are stupid and unfair and stifling, like the way he can only use his powers when they say, or how there are cameras always watching him (even in the bathroom), or how none of his rooms have windows and he's only allowed to be outside for a few hours a week. Or how he was never, ever asked if this was what he wanted for his life.

Yes, Chansung thinks, keeping his expression neutral as he watches them disconnect their machines from him on the one hundred and seventeenth day, it's funny what happens once you realise everyone deserves a choice.

 

On the one hundred and fiftieth day, Chansung's mental state is deemed secure and he immediately goes back to the way things were before.

When he's allowed back into his room everything looks to be just the way he left it, except not quite, because Taec is still gone. Chansung expects a bracelet of his own but for some reason, he never gets one and the fact that they are that confident in their control over him only makes him angrier.

Minjae is nice to him, nicer than he ever was before, but Chansung's sure that he's been instructed to keep tabs on him, so he's very careful what he tells him. He's careful with everything he does, because he knows he has to be smart now. Not just the smart that involves knowing Pythagoras' Theorem or the English alphabet—he has to be street smart, like Taec. 

 

It's ironic that as the one with the power, he has the least power now. Not only have all the Facility's security procedures been overhauled and improved after Taec escaped, but his training has got more intense, too.

Suddenly, he has a third of the free time he had before, and has more training sessions than ever. Namyong works him rigorously, exercising a different aspect of his power every day, punishing him for his mistakes with physical activity, and Chansung goes to bed exhausted every night before getting up the next morning and doing it all again.

Chansung wonders if they're trying to make him their own private weapon in case Taec comes back. He manages to have them all convinced that he hates Taec, that he thinks Taec is loathsome for betraying them, but Chansung knows now that the Facility isn't his family. Taec taught him that, and for that he'll always be grateful. He owes them nothing. 

And so, Chansung makes a decision. He doesn't care how long it will take, what it will take, or what he'll have to sacrifice, but he's leaving. He's going to get out even if it kills him.

Just like Taec.

 

+

 

After their high school graduation Taec goes through a long rough patch of accidentally setting everything on fire before he finally understands it's because he's horny. It's an awareness that dawns much later than it probably should, but he's not exactly familiar with the average teenager's life so he figures it's excusable. It only comes about at all because he walks down the hall one day and the door to Nichan's room is half-open, and he just happens to look inside to see Nichan with a girl pressed against the wall. Nichan's shirt is off, their hips are moving in a decidedly erotic way and the girl is moaning, and Taec immediately gets that same feeling he had when the comb he was holding earlier melted—the burning in his gut like _he's_ the one on fire.

Neither of them notice Taec and he knows he should leave but he can't—this level of passion is something he's never seen in person, and it's too hypnotizing to look away. He watches for a few more moments, eyes tracing over Nichan's form, the power of his movements, the way his muscles move under his smooth skin, the redness of his lips and tongue, and he barely even notices the girl, registering only that her noises of pleasure are getting dangerously high-pitched.

It's then that he comes to another realization—that him pushing a girl against the wall probably wouldn't help at all. Not with the way he's so much more interested in Nichan, and not when all he wants is to feel the hard lines of another man ( _Chansung_ , he finds himself thinking fleetingly, but that's just—) under his fingertips.

 

When Taec showers that evening he takes longer than usual, embracing the heat in his groin and thinking of what he saw and, for the first time in weeks, he doesn't set his towel on fire afterwards.

 

To his chagrin, the effectiveness of that strategy wears off quickly, and he is trying to work out some of his frustrations on the bench press at the gym when he finds himself distracted by Khun as he walks past. 

Taec's not sure why he even notices him, since he's effectively on level with Khun's knees, but it's enough to break his rhythm and he has to force himself to finish his set. He reaches eight, hefts the bar back onto its struts and levers himself up, trying to be subtle as he watches Khun settle at the lat machine.

He's always been abstractedly aware of Khun's appeal but he's never bothered himself with it. There are always people who want Khun's attention and Taec's just been happy to have Khun as his friend, to exchange language lessons with, to do homework with and laugh with. Khun is kind and makes him the most comfortable he's felt since Chansung, but his looks have never been an issue.

Until now. Now he can't help but watch Khun's biceps flex, watch his face tense as he strains to complete his last rep, watch the sweat drip off his nose and chin before he breathes out and wipes his face with his towel.

He looks up and notices Taec watching and grins widely. He holds out his water bottle and he suddenly looks so attractive that Taec can't stop himself from standing, moving over to him, and taking it.

The condensation on the bottle is a nice sensation against Taec's tingling palms, and he forces himself not to finish every last drop and to give it back, his fingers brushing Khun's. Taec breathes in sharply at the sensation and wonders what's wrong with him.

Khun smiles again and takes a swig himself, head tilting back to expose his sweaty neck, and Taec slowly, carefully, knowing he really shouldn't but unable to stop himself, reaches out to run his fingertips down Khun's throat. His palms start prickling again, violently, like he's slept on his hand and it's fallen asleep, and it feels incredible.

Khun freezes mid-gulp, lowering the bottle slowly to look up at him with big shimmery eyes.

"Taec?" he says lowly, his Adam's apple bobbing against Taec's fingers, and Taec is long gone.

 

His first sexual experience with Khun happens right afterwards, awkward grinding in the showers, several minutes of hot flushed skin and trying to keep quiet and feeling like his whole body is going to set alight. Then it's over and they're both panting and Khun is holding Taec's face in his hands, poking his cheeks, and Taec is actually, truly relaxed and laughing and letting him.

They've crossed several boundaries now and Taec doesn't know what will happen next, but can't bring himself to care because for the first time in months he doesn't think about Chansung or the Facility at all.

 

They're having sex for the sixth time in as many weeks when it happens—Khun arches beneath him, hot and pale and firm, but Taec blinks and suddenly all he can see is Chansung. Chansung's too-long hair and the feminine slant of his eyes and his Roman nose and the long, ridged expanse of his neck as his head tilts back and Taec finds himself coming harder than he ever has, squeezing his eyes shut and digging his fingers into his palms so he doesn't set the bed on fire and—

When he opens his eyes again it's Khun staring back at him, surprised and a little hesitant as he reaches up to brush Taec's hair off his face.

"What was that?" Khun asks quietly.

Taec shakes his head and separates them limb-by-limb, picking up his clothes and locking himself in Khun's bathroom as he dresses.

He wishes he were more surprised by what just happened.

 

Taec tries to avoid Khun for a while but it proves difficult when they live in the same house and frequent the same gym. No matter how often he tries to vary his schedule, working different hours, Khun is always at there at the same time as he is, looking as beautifully hurt as ever.

Taec can barely stop himself from going to him, because the thing is, even though Khun is physically nothing like Chansung (bulky and brawny where Chansung was lean and defined), his easy kindness and genuine smile are more than familiar, and that is what makes it so difficult to stay away. 

Taec knows what this is, now. It isn't about Khun, not really. It's about Chansung. He misses Chansung. He needs Chansung. He needs—

He needs to do something, because this strategy (of ignoring his past, of attempting to forget the Facility and forget about Chansung and everything they went through) isn't working. He can't forget anymore. But if he is going to do something, something stupid, something dangerous, something for _someone else_ , he has no right to get involved with Khun again, no matter how good he is at making Taec feel almost whole.

No matter how hard it is to resist.

 

Khun is naked and sprawled out on his bed, waiting and watching Taec with a gentle smile not unlike the one that had first welcomed him to the Facility, and Taec feels the roiling guilt pick up its pace in his stomach.

"What's wrong?" Khun asks softly, like he's afraid speaking any louder will shatter Taec's fragile psyche. Taec welcomes it because right now, he feels like it just might.

"Nothing," he says, and he should be telling the truth. Khun is a good guy, he deserves more than Taec, more than his shitty powers and his shitty deceptions and his shitty life, and Taec should really let him go for good but—

But he can't.

"Nothing," he repeats instead, and distracts them both by leaning forwards to lick up Khun's inner thigh.

 

Khun, however, is more emotionally sensitive and much more stubborn than Taec would like (or maybe that's why he _does_ like him, because that's Chansung to a tee, too). The next time they're together and they're flushed and panting and Taec is trying to will the post-orgasmic burning in his palms away, Khun turns to him and runs his fingertips over Taec's cheekbones, intimate in a way that Taec usually doesn't like.

"I always feel like there's somewhere you'd rather be," Khun says. "Someone you'd rather be _with_. Like you have some sort of hidden agenda." His eyes glimmer in the low light and Taec finds himself holding his breath as Khun's fingers skate down over his jaw and to his lips. "You can talk to me, Taec."

Taec's eyes drift closed and he savours the contact for a moment, finally breathing out and giving in. "If I ask you to help me with something, will you? No questions asked?"

Khun's hand pauses in its journey down his throat and Taec opens his eyes. Khun looks disappointed but Taec knows he means it when he says, "Whatever you need."

 

Taec needs a lot.

Khun never refuses him.

 

+

 

There's a guy waiting for Chansung in his room when he returns from his evening meal.

_Taec_ , he thinks immediately, with an optimism he'd forgotten he had, but it isn't Taec at all. This guy is petite and slender in ways that Taec never was, and when Chansung gets closer the guy turns around and he's wearing a nametag that reads _Udong_.

Chansung immediately wants another serving of the noodles he just ate.

"Who," he says instead, used to ignoring his hunger, "are you?"

Udong looks him up down disinterestedly. He stands out a lot here—not only is his shirt bright yellow, but he's the first new face in the Facility since Taec left, and Chansung is more than a little wary of him.

"Your name is Udong?" he continues, briefly wondering if the guy can talk.

"They thought it would be cute. I'm not cute." Udong pulls a frowny face and it completely contradicts his words because even through his suspicion it's the cutest thing Chansung has ever seen—and a _lot_ of his documentaries have baby animals in them. Chansung tries not to let the overwhelming adorableness affect him.

"Okay," Chansung says. "What should I call you?"

"Wooyoung," Wooyoung answers, although his attention is already on something else. Chansung watches with amusement as he stalks over to the couch and fishes out the socks Chansung had taken off and stuffed under the cushion the night before, too lazy to put them away. "Yah, what's this? Do you always leave your junk around?"

"It's my room," Chansung points out, wondering if he's serious.

Wooyoung narrows his eyes. "Not anymore, it isn't."

 

It turns out Wooyoung is quite serious, if the way he practically moves in is any indication. They're together a lot—lessons, work outs, meals, down-time… The only time he leaves is during Chansung's power training and at nights, when he finally heads off to his sleeping quarters before appearing again the next morning, exactly at Chansung's wake-up call. At first it's weird and difficult because Chansung hasn't had anyone since Taec (and Wooyoung is _not_ Taec, far from it) and Chansung, with his newfound freedom of thought, can't help but wonder _why_.

In the past he would have assumed it was some kind of twisted apology for all the months of psychological torture they put him through, that maybe he'd passed their tests and this was his reward. Now he's more inclined to think completely the opposite, that they probably figure a new companion will put him at ease, get Chansung's guard down enough to share his secrets and keep him on side. Whatever the case, there is a long period of adjustment for the both of them and neither of them trust each other and nothing of any substance is said for more than a fortnight, until curiosity finally gets the better of him and Chansung finally gives in and asks, "What can you do?"

Wooyoung glances up from his home furnishings magazine, looking far too innocent. "Whatever I set my mind to."

"No," Chansung persists, "I mean what can you _do_? How did you get in here?"

There's a pause before Wooyoung tilts his head and says, "I walked."

Chansung stares at him, trying not to react, but he can't stop the corner of his mouth from twitching upwards and he knows Wooyoung has seen it when he leans back in his chair, looking triumphant. "Shut up," Chansung says, leaning over to shove playfully at his arm.

Wooyoung topples off his chair.

 

"Did you have anyone, before me?" Wooyoung asks one day, while they're watching the documentary about pandas. They've both seen this one before (more than once, more than ten, fifty, a hundred times in Chansung's case) but neither of them mind.

They're on the couch, Chansung in his usual spot on the left, and even though at first he didn't want to let Wooyoung sit next to him in Taec's spot, eventually Wooyoung whined and mocked him enough for him to give in. Like everything else, it was weird at first, but in a way it's also pretty convenient because while Wooyoung provides the same body warmth Taec did, he takes up a lot less room and lets Chansung drape himself over his body instead of the other way around.

Despite all the time they've spent together Chansung still isn't sure how much to trust Wooyoung, so he doesn't answer the question straight away, pretending to be engrossed in the eating habits of the giant pandas of the Sichuan province.

"Did you have a friend?" Wooyoung continues, and smacks Chansung lightly across the back of the head. "Yah! Did you?"

"Did _you_?" Chansung counters, finally looking at him, but Wooyoung presses his lips together tightly and avoids his gaze.

_You're interesting_ , half of Chansung thinks, while the other half thinks, _I'm an idiot_ , and they're quiet for a while, Chansung picking at a loose thread on the arm of the couch.

"He slept a lot," Chansung says quietly, a peace offering. "He never made it to the end of a movie."

Wooyoung nods slowly. "Not even the one on foxes?"

"Not even the bit where you _almost_ see that fox's expression change." He watches as Wooyoung frowns, not liking the direction the mood has taken and deciding to try and lighten things up a bit. "We can watch that one tomorrow, if you want."

Wooyoung smirks, attitude switching up again so quickly Chansung almost gets emotional whiplash, and says, "I have a better idea."

Before he leaves he borrows the documentary about ducks (the most boring one, in Chansung's opinion) and promises to return it soon.

 

When he does bring it back and slip it into the player it takes Chansung approximately three seconds to realise it is not the same film. He looks at Wooyoung, alarmed and trying to appear not to be, but Wooyoung just smirks again before pulling an exaggeratedly innocent face, curling his fists under his chin and pouting.

Chansung wonders if he's insane.

"Yah," he says, keeping his voice steady, "what's this?"

"Ssh," Wooyoung scolds him, "the movie's started."

Chansung finds his eyes riveted to the screen, because _holy shit_ , there are _people_ on it. People, not animals, people who are interacting and talking and even though there's no sound and the people don't look like anyone Chansung's used to (the main female has yellow hair! And blue eyes!) it's fascinating. Chansung's seen photos of this, snatched glimpses of things on screens when he's being shepherded down halls and past offices, but this is mind-blowing.

Wooyoung leans in close, resting his head on Chansung's shoulder like Taec used to, but Chansung can't quite bring himself to push him away.

"This is—" he starts, but Wooyoung reaches up to flick his ear.

"Camera's on us, remember," he breathes quietly, making it look like a yawn. "Not the TV."

Chansung very deliberately doesn't look up at the camera trained on them, focusing instead on trying to look normal. Whatever that may be.

 

At the end of the film everyone's smiling and the main female and the main male move in very close, so close their lips are touching, and Chansung suddenly remembers—this is kissing. Taec told him about this, showed him one time after a session of testing their powers, when Minjae had suddenly disappeared and left them unsupervised for a few minutes. It had been quick, and weird, and Taec had laughed at him after, eyes crinkled and eyes reddened, but it had also been kind of nice.

Chansung asks Wooyoung to bring another film like this on their next movie night.

 

It's been two months and they still haven't been caught. Wooyoung refuses to tell Chansung how he's doing this and Chansung doesn't ask, no matter how much he wonders about it—about who it is that's supplying Wooyoung with these films (maybe the same person who helped Taec?) and about Wooyoung himself (because Chansung always thought that he was on the Facility's side, not Chansung's, and if Wooyoung ever gets found out then he'll be in a _lot_ of trouble).

Chansung knows they should stop, but every few days Wooyoung turns up with a new disguised film and every time it gets harder to stay scared, because Chansung loves it. He loves watching these people interact with one another and lead their lives because they're so average, so utterly unremarkable, and it's some of the most appealing material Chansung's ever been exposed to.

He likes to imagine Taec like that—ordinary and unexceptional, loving and loved and free—and he's directly in the middle of doing so one night when Wooyoung asks him a question.

"Did you watch movies with Taec?"

"Why do you keep asking about him?" Chansung asks, frowning, because Wooyoung is always asking him things but lately it's been more than just the occasional interested question. Wooyoung has been on the verge of interrogating him about Taec all week and as much as Chansung has resigned himself to the fact that that's why Wooyoung's here (he's not dumb and, no matter how hard he tries, Wooyoung is not subtle) it still hurts because he _likes_ Wooyoung. He likes his intelligence, his humour and the way he'll sometimes slip and accidentally let an aspect of his real personality out, like when he talks about interior design and when he dances (Taec did a lot of silly dances and so does Wooyoung but the difference is that Wooyoung can be really serious about it, too), or the rare occasion he talks about his past. Chansung lets him have secrets because anything's better than being alone again.

Wooyoung leans in, resting his forehead on Chansung's upper arm. "No reason," he says quietly, even though it's obvious he's lying.

 

After a particularly successful training session, when it feels as adrenalin is coursing through his veins instead of blood even after his warm down and shower, when he feels invincible and unstoppable and nothing short of perfect, Chansung loses all of his inhibitions and kisses Wooyoung.

Chansung kisses Wooyoung like in the movies they watch, soft and slow, until Wooyoung gets impatient and yanks him closer. Wooyoung's lips are dry and thin but Chansung finds he likes the sensation. They keep their mouths closed, neither of them quite knowledgeable enough to push it any further, but when Chansung pulls away he makes sure to grin at Wooyoung in a way that lets him know it won't stay that way forever.

 

Except it does, because when Chansung gets back from his afternoon lesson Wooyoung is gone, and he never sees him again.

 

+

 

Taec knows he's ready when he can't think of anything else to do. He's been preparing for a long time, and his savings are gone, and he's run into innumerable problems, but with Khun's help he's overcome them all and now everything is finally, _finally_ in place. It's just up to Taec to set everything in motion.

It's too bad he's always been so terrible with goodbyes.

 

There's probably a better way of saying 'thank you' to the family that took you in as a stranger and then fed, clothed and housed you for years, Taec thinks, than cooking them ddukbokki, but he can't be too obvious. They think he's just treating them to a traditional Korean meal on Christmas Eve, and that's how it has to stay.

He can't tell them anything (he can't even tell Khun as much as he wants to know), not only for their own safety, but because of the looks he can imagine on their faces. Simply thinking about the hurt and confusion they're going to feel when they find him gone is almost enough to make him stop. As cowardly as it is, he can't bring himself to tell them anything in person, so while Nichan and his sisters are doing the dishes and Khun's parents have been sent to the sitting room to relax, Taec goes to his room and takes his puffy yellow jacket and his letter to Khun's family and tells everyone he's going for a walk.

He leaves the letter in the hallway, tucked into the corner of the keyholder where he knows Khun's parents will see it. It's not long, only two pages, and there's no way in hell it could ever say everything he wants it to, but Khun helped him get it as close as he could.

And so, with one last glance at the family portrait of the seven of them hung on the wall (it was taken in July for that Christmas, and Mrs Horvejkul had insisted they all wear Christmas-appropriate attire even though the air-conditioning in the photographer's studio had broken down, and Nichan had hated his bowtie and Khun thought his hair looked too girly and Yanin's sweater had been woolen and Cherreen wanted to wear make-up and Mr Horvejkul had been missing some sports game and Taec had been entirely unsure about having his photo taken, but they'd all known how important it was to Mrs Horvejkul and so they'd banded together to make it work and none of them had had to force their smiles even once for the photographer), Taec walks out of the Horvejkul's lives forever.

 

Khun meets him ten minutes later at the bus stop, and even though a giant red scarf obscures his face, Taec doesn't need to see his expression to know what he's feeling. They sit in silence, side by side, waiting, until the bus appears in the distance. Taec moves to stand and Khun grabs his hand, holding on tight.

"Are you sure?" Khun asks, voice wavering.

Taec turns to him, reaching down to adjust the scarf so he can see Khun's eyes. He doesn't have to say anything.

When the bus comes, it's Khun who leads him onto it.

 

They stand in the very spot where Taec first met Khun, when he had nothing and no-one, when he had nothing to lose and so much to learn. Taec finds himself thinking about full circles, circles of life, and how much life can change—how you can start with so little and gain so much, and then lose it all again—and he's sad and nervous and grateful all at once, but he's not pessimistic. He did it once and he can do it again. With Chansung. The way it should have been done in the first place.

"There's a lot of people," Khun says, observing the hurried last-minute shoppers, excited children up past their bedtime, and romantic couples as they pass, places to be and people to see.

Taec nods. "The more the better."

"I'll miss you," Khun adds quietly, and Taec finally looks at him.

"Me too," he says earnestly.

Khun keeps watching the crowd, eyes glassy. "You'll have your friend."

"And I won't have you. Which means I'll miss you." He leans directly into Khun's field of vision and makes sure to grin his stupidest grin, the one Khun can never resist laughing at, and knows it's worked when Khun rolls his eyes and pulls him into a hug.

Taec holds on tight, waiting for Khun's grip to relax before moving away slowly, only a little surprised when Khun darts back in to kiss him one last time.

Taec can almost taste his sadness. When he pulls away his eyes are glittering with the lights of the storefront displays, the night breeze ruffles his messy hair and he looks so much a brokenhearted heroine from the old movies he's made Taec watch that Taec almost tells him everything. He deserves to know, because if it wasn't for him Taec could never have made it this far—but Taec knows that he deserves _not_ to know even more. Nichkhun's life is perfect without Taec, and the less he knows the better, so Taec's responding grin isn't even all that forced.

"Do me a favour and proofread Jay's raps for me, will you?" he says, gently removing Khun's fingers from his arm. "Sometimes they're really shit."

Khun laughs and nods, and Taec salutes him, not waiting for a response before turning and moving into the crowd, blending in, letting the motion of a hurried populace carry him down the stretch. When he travels a few metres he stops and plants his feet, grounding himself, and people give him annoyed looks but the annoyance turns into to shock and then wonder when he shakes his arms a little to loosen his muscles and then holds his palms face up, level with his chest, and produces one small fireball in each one. The crowd quickly parts around him, staring and pointing and gasping, and he lets the fireballs get bigger and bigger, roughly the size of basketballs, now.

When he looks around he notices Khun at the front of the crowd and catches his eye. Khun smiles and he smiles back before Khun turns and pushes his way out of the crowd, people filling the gap he created in less then a second, and it's like he was never there.

 

Taec's arms are getting sore, and he's just in the middle of hoping he won't be waiting too much longer when he sees them, barreling through the crowd to reach him, Namyong leading six other guys in suits. Taec has to admit that he's proud they thought they'd need so much manpower to subdue him, but he's not going to fight them. Not this time.

They finally push through the last group of people, spilling into the space Taec's spectators have left around him, and Taec grins, manipulating his fire into a perfect love heart.

"Man, I missed you guys," he says.

Namyong grins and his men move in.

 

+

 

Chansung knows something's happening even before Minjae is agitated and preoccupied in their lesson. He can't explain it, but when he woke up that morning he knew immediately that something was _different_. The feeling hadn't faded over his morning meal or during his bathing time and now that Minjae's behavior has reinforced it and Chansung almost comes right out and asks before remembering—he's supposed to be compliant. Docile little subjects like Chansung don't ask questions, not important ones, and so he holds his tongue.

But that night, when he's wide awake and alert way past lights out and he realises he hadn't thought about Wooyoung once for the first day in weeks, Chansung is convinced that it's something big.

 

"—yeon," Chansung hears Minjae during his lesson, and it takes less than a second for Chansung to attach a 'Taec' to the front of it. Chansung's heart thumps harder in his chest and he tries not to seem too interested, concentrating instead on the history lesson in front of him. Minjae is speaking quietly but not enough, and Chansung can hear every few words of his hurried conversation into his phone.

"…he's really…cell…why…Jinyoung know? What…fire…here?"

And that's all Chansung needs, because now he knows for sure what's happening.

Taec is _here_.

 

Chansung is on edge for the rest of the day, all of his energy expended on trying to act normal. It's tougher than ever to look like he has no idea what's going on when all he wants to do is find Taec and hug him and then maybe hit him and then definitely escape with him.

He has to stay calm and he has to be careful. Taec's obviously back because he has a plan, and if Chansung screws it up then that'll be it for both of them. The best thing to do is wait for Taec to somehow make the first move.

 

He has to wait a long time. It's been a month and nothing has happened and Chansung is getting more worried every day. What if something's gone wrong? What if Taec simply got captured and he never had some sort of grand plan? What if he does and it doesn't involve Chansung? What if—

But no. Chansung knows Taec. He trusts Taec.

It's only a matter of time.

 

It happens when he least expects it to (and Namyong would be so disappointed in his lack of preparation). Chansung is in his room, back from his evening training and bathing sessions, wondering what to do before bed (anything to stave off the crippling loneliness, usually), when he notices an odd number of DVDs in his pile.

Chansung moves closer to the television, counting the pile again, and yes. There is a case there that wasn't there before.

Maybe Minjae dropped off something about puppies like Chansung's been asking, but he'd only told him just that morning and he was waiting for approval.

Wooyoung, Chansung thinks then, but it can't be, because Wooyoung is gone, barely even having existed in the first place. So then that leaves…

Taecyeon.

Chansung crouches, eyeing the pile carefully. It's a plain black case, just like the rest of his collection, but it's an anomaly and it's off, somehow. More than aware of the camera just above him Chansung opens the DVD case carefully, aiming for nonchalance, angling it towards himself just in case and—

Inside is a card.

Chansung has seen cards like this before. Chansung has seen Minjae scan cards like this to open doors that are locked all over the Facility.

This card is his way out.

No longer caring about the camera, Chansung bounds over to the door and, feeling more reckless than ever, he swipes the card.

The door beeps and clicks, and it's unlocked, the little light turning green.

Chansung rests his hand on the door handle and forces himself to breathe. He stares at the smooth, shiny metal, cold against his palm. He's never opened a door himself before—his whole life at the Facility has meant that he hasn't done a lot of things for himself. He's never cooked a meal. He's never been outside unguarded. He's never watched television with sound, he's never been shopping, he's never had his own phone, he's never had a job or a family or friends like the people in the movies… And it was these very thoughts that stopped him last time. Last time, he was scared, petrified of the consequences as he watched Taec disappear from his life.

But Taec has come back for him, and he won't let the fear stop him this time. Taking a breath, keeping his eyes wide open, Chansung opens the door.

 

He's hardly the stealthiest person on the planet (something many a training session has shown him), but everyone in the Facility seems just as distracted and busy as Minjae and Chansung suspects Taec's contact of helping out again. Aside from that, no-one expects Chansung to have ever taken enough initiative to leave his room, so the countless corridors of the Facility are mostly deserted.

As long as he's lived here he's had a chaperone of some sort and can't ever remember going anywhere alone, but the back of the card has a tiny map on it, just like the ones Taec used to draw in his workbooks to show Chansung his old home, and he follows it the best he can.

After many long minutes of searching, backtracking, and a close call with a troop of guards, he reaches a corridor with a door at the end that's different to the others, the heavily reinforced steel catching his attention, and he knows that this is it. He hurries towards the door, barely skidding to a stop before thrusting the keycard under the scanner.

It doesn't work.

It beeps, turns red, and then reverts back to standby. He tries again, but it just does the same thing.

Chansung is stuck.

"No," he hisses, "no!" 

He's got this far, this _can't_ be it, it _can't_ be, not when Taec is so close, he can feel him, if Chansung could only…

Chansung clenches his fists, digging his fingernails into his palms, before he blinks and looks down at his hands, flexing his fingers out and clenching them again. 

Right. He _can_.

Pocketing the keycard, he takes two steps back, raises a palm, concentrates on the door mechanism, closes his eyes, and lets go.

When Chansung opens his eyes again there is a gaping, smoking hole where the lock used to be. He grins.

 

The first thing Chansung notices about Taec is that even in the dingy light his hair is dark yellow, like lots of the girls in the films Wooyoung watched. It's shorter too, and it would probably spike up after he bathed, but right now it's too dirty to do anything other then droop limply onto his face. Everything about him is dirty, actually, like they locked him in this tiny glass cell and then forgot about him—punishment for running away, punishment for coming back.

Chansung walks closer and bends down because Taec's slumped on the floor, his back against one side of the cell, knees brought to his chest because they won't fit stretched out all the way, and Chansung can see the nodes and wires attached to his skull, feeding out of the tiniest hole in the glass and into a nearby computer, monitoring all his stats.

Oh, so they haven't completely neglected him, then.

He knew he would feel conflicted if he ever saw Taec again, but he thought it would be of the hug-or-hit variety. Right now his heart just feels like it's breaking.

"Taec," he says quietly, pressing his palm to the glass. "Taec?"

He doesn't look like he's asleep, but they could have drugged him, and Chansung drags his gaze down from his face to his chest, counting his breaths before getting distracted by his hands. They're strapped and bound and he has a new metal bracelet on each wrist, cutting into his skin in ways that will undoubtedly scar, blood dried around the edges.

The sight of the blood is all it takes for Chansung to find his distress turning quickly into anger, because it doesn't matter what sorts of capabilities someone has, they don't deserve to treated like this. No living thing deserves this—except maybe the people who did this to Taec, but they've earned it by now.

They've earned much more than this. This would be the pleasant option.

Chansung wants to kill them. 

Chansung shouldn't use his powers when he's so emotional.

Chansung doesn't care.

Chansung springs up and focuses all his energy into a strong beam, quickly and efficiently slicing through the glass, just like Namyong taught him, cutting a clean hole in the cell and carefully maneuvering himself inside. He creeps closer to run his hands over Taec's clammy skin, before gently peeling the nodes off his temples.

The computer starts to whine at the lack of feed but Chansung doesn't hesitate for a second, shielding Taec's body with his own and reaching out to send out a quick flash of light. It explodes and Chansung only feels satisfaction.

Taec's head tips against his chest and he cradles it there, enjoying the feel of their bodies pressed together for the first time in years, and he strokes Taec's back, rocks him and rests his chin on his greasy hair.

It takes Chansung a few minutes to unbind Taec's hands and remove the bracelets, and then to lever Taec up and support him so he won't fall, so he won't get hurt any more. Taec is barely conscious, mumbling incoherently, slack and floppy in Chansung's arms.

"I've got you," he tells him firmly. "It'll be okay."

He doesn't know that it will be.

 

Chansung gets halfway up the corridor before his uncertainty becomes inevitability and he knows for certain—they're not going to get out of this.

An alarm is going off somewhere and underneath that he can hear the thunk-thunk-thunk of booted feet nearing closer and the yells of panicked Facility staff and he can't, he can't do this, how did he ever think he could, he's not strong enough for this, and after all that Taec has been through Chansung is letting him down _again_.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Chansung whispers, pinning Taec's body against the wall with his own, trying to hold him up, but Taec's too limp and he staggers back a little, hiding his face in Taec's shoulder. "Taec, please, I can't—"

"You can."

Chansung looks up, wide-eyed, and opens his mouth when he sees Taec's open eyes but then Taec reacts to something over his shoulder and Chansung spins around, back pressed to Taec's front, shielding him.

A tall, flat-faced man is standing there, flanked by Minjae, Namyong and two Facility guards who are trying their best to look menacing. All of them except the middle man have guns, like he expects them to protect him, to sacrifice their lives in doing so.

He looks vaguely familiar, like Chansung has caught glimpses of his calm, complacent smirk out of the corner of his eye repeatedly for the past twenty years but never bothered to wonder who he was. He doesn't have to wonder now—the way he waves his hand and Minjae and Namyong edge closer, simultaneously clicking off the safety on their guns, leaves no doubt that he's the one in charge. The one behind this entire operation.

Minjae takes another step forward and Chansung acts before he can even think, because Taec is in danger and there is no time for hesitation, his palm raising and sending out four strong pulses of light in quick succession. All four guns clatter to the floor, warped and useless.

"I don't want to kill you," Chansung says, advancing on them slowly, "but Namyong taught me how and I will if you don't leave right now." 

The two terrified guards don't hesitate, escaping without glancing back even once.

Chansung turns his gaze to Minjae. Minjae looks back and opens his mouth to speak. The middle man beats him to it.

"He won't hurt us," he says, sounding very confident, but Chansung keeps his eyes on Minjae—he knows him, can see his hesitance, the way his mouth stays downturned and the darting of his small eyes. "You _can't_ ," the man continues, beyond smug, like that very statement decides the matter.

Chansung narrows his eyes, finally turning to the man, feeling his anger spike further. "If I was you," he grits out, already feeling the power fluttering at his fingertips, "I would never tell someone what they can and can't do ever again."

Chansung holds his gaze and the man's eyes flicker to Taec, and Chansung can see Namyong creep closer again, but Chansung doesn't give him a chance, sending out two quick power pulses. Minjae yelps and Namyong grunts and they both collapse to the floor, clutching their knees in pain, and Chansung wastes no time in pressing both hands to the sides of the man's face, pleased to finally see a spark of fear in his eyes.

"You made me like this," Chansung says lowly. "This is your fault."

"I made you a god," the man says, his breath hot on Chansung's face, making his skin crawl.

"You made me a puppet," Chansung growls. "You treated me like a monster." He holds the man's gaze for a few moments before stepping back, hands dropping to his sides. "I'm not a monster." The man blinks, wavering, like he's unsure what's happening, and Chansung wastes no time in rearing back to punch him in the stomach. 

The man drops to the floor and Namyong scrambles over to him. "Sir!"

"That was for Wooyoung," Chansung says, stepping back again, so he can feel Taec's warmth against his back, so he can feel the anger draining out of him. "Now leave."

Namyong looks up and narrows his eyes. "Fine."

"But—" Minjae starts, and Namyong smacks him across the head.

"Just get Jinyoung out of here!" he yells and Minjae nods, hurriedly hooking the man's arm over his shoulder and rushing down the corridor. Namyong spares Chansung one last glance (and he looks… impressed? Proud? Whatever it is it's too strange for Chansung to interpret) before limping after them the fastest he can and disappearing around the corner.

Chansung turns back and Taec blinks at him, still groggy and drained, but he's smiling and Chansung has missed him so _much_ so he can't stop himself from lurching forward and pressing their lips together.

This is only Chansung's second kiss and even he can tell it's not that great, because Taec can't control his body yet and Chansung is too panicked and desperate to move his mouth properly and it's sloppy and their lips slip and slide but it's perfect. It's perfect and Chansung reaches up to touch Taec's face as he gently pulls away. Taec is grinning at him.

"Missed me, then?"

Chansung lets out a bark of laughter that sounds way too loud, even to his own ears, but he can't help it, he's working so hard not to let all of his feelings overwhelm him and he just—

"Stop thinking so much," Taec says. "I'm here, I'm okay, I'm with you, and we're going to leave together."

Chansung nods. "Okay."

"Let's get out of here."

Chansung grins. "Okay."

 

+

 

It's ridiculously cold outside and Chansung huddles into him, shivering, and it takes a few moments for Taec to remember that Chansung has never been cold before.

"Are you okay?" he asks, worried, but Chansung smiles so widely and so perfectly that he can't help but smile back.

"I'm fine," Chansung says, barely getting it out through his chattering teeth.

"Your lips are turning blue."

"Really?" Chansung's beaming only increases. "They're never done that before!"

Taec rolls his eyes but finds that he really can't feel any emotion that is not elation. The knot in his gut loosens and his lungs expand and his heartbeat grows less frenetic with every step they take away from the Facility and Chansung is with him and everything is beautiful.

He takes a deep breath and so does Chansung and Taec is just about to tell him about the next stages of his plan when fire lights up the sky and explodes, far enough away not to be dangerous but still so loud and sounding like gunfire. Chansung ducks but Taec just laughs and pulls him closer.

"Relax, it must be just fireworks for the Lunar New Year," he says.

Chansung tilts his head. "Fireworks?"

"People are celebrating," Taec says. "We will too. Later."

"Because you have a plan, right?" Chansung says. He looks nervous, every single element of this completely new to him, and Taec knows from experience that he needs a distraction.

"Oh," Taec says, making sure to look his greasiest, "do I have plans." Chansung groans but grins as well, and Taec grins back. "Now get us to a road."

The terrain is rougher than Taec remembers it, nothing but scrubland in view in the twilight, and his legs are wobbly and Chansung has to bear a lot of his weight but he adjusts and works with him, just like they used to in training, and Taec knows everything is going to be okay.

He tightens his grip on Chansung and Chansung squeezes back and they do it together, the sky bathed in fire and light above them.

**Author's Note:**

> The wonderful [Verocity](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Verocity) wrote a brilliant remix of this, which can be found [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/996214).


End file.
